Tory peer Lord Bates resigns mid-speech in House of Lords

Lord Bates dramatically resigned at the dispatch box at the House of Lords after apologising for failing to be in his place to respond to a questionPA Wire

A government minister shocked peers by abruptly resigning mid-speech in the House of Lords then immediately walking out of the chamber.

Lord Bates, an international development minister, unexpectedly told colleagues that he was offering his resignation to Theresa May after turning up late to answer a question by another peer.

He said that he was “thoroughly ashamed for failing to be in his place to respond to a question from a peer” but his dramatic departure from the frontbench elicited cries of “No!” from across the chamber.

Several peers, including Lord Lamont of Lerwick, the former Conservative chancellor, reached out to stop Lord Bates from exiting the chamber.

He had been listed to respond to a question from the Labour peer Baroness Lister of Burtersett,…

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